About 11 minutes into a roughly 31-minute Zoom session with media members on Monday afternoon, UVa head coach Bronco Mendenhall said something that got my attention.

Now, to be fair, the reality is that this probably shouldn’t have come as a surprise to me. It likely didn’t surprise many folks who either heard him or read his quotes here and elsewhere, either.

But it did open my eyes a bit. And in so doing, it underscored the unexpected tentacles that attempting to play sports amid a global pandemic can truly present.

Mendenhall had already talked about a number of topics but when he got to the protocols in place now that players are back on Grounds, especially at the McCue Center, my head couldn’t help but shake with surprise.

The players, he explained, don’t have access to the locker room. So, they arrive for workouts—which go from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. as to provide enough spacing—dressed and then head back to their rooms to shower before laundry services pick up their gear at designated drop-offs. This way, they aren't as likely to spread contaminants.

“So, yeah, it’s a giant operation we have going,” Mendenhall said thereafter. “Our support has been amazing. We’re adjusting as we go. It’s taking a lot to this point but I’m really encouraged by the people we have and the effort they’re putting in.”

For many, the politics of the virus have grown as nauseating as the uncertainty has grown ubiquitous. But there’s no getting around the logistical nightmare that is bringing more than 100 student-athletes back to school, housing them, providing safe workout environments for them, feeding them, and making sure they don’t get sick. And then having to plug all of the holes you surely missed.

“I can’t say we’re doing everything,” Mendenhall said later. “But we’re doing everything we know how to do.”

The question of football in the fall has loomed for months. Fans and observers alike have discussed it so intently—at a time when there was literally nothing else to talk about, of course—that now that the timeframe for a re-launch draws closer, anxiety has ratcheted up. Continued outbreaks of the virus in a host of places nationally have certainly done nothing to squelch the fear that football will go the way hoops went this spring.

Per UVa, the program had just two positives among the 110 players that were initially tested upon arrival last weekend. Mendenhall also said Monday that there were two players who had yet to rejoin the program, where mandatory workout sessions begin today.

“We gathered as much information as possible, knowing that the data on the virus is relatively young,” he explained. “We were watching what was happening, we were applying best practices, we were learning as much as we could. So, for a group of young people that we hadn’t seen since spring break, to come back and have the initial numbers—and I’ll emphasize that, the initial numbers—that we had was a real testament to them considering the time they’ve been away. I think they’ve handled the masking, the social distancing, the hand washing, and so many other protocols we have in place at a strong level.

“It’s not habitual yet,” Mendenhall added, “and it’s not truly part of our culture yet but I do believe the information that we gathered along the way from other programs, not only internally but externally as our players were viewing it, as we were viewing it and adapting and applying in our program, has allowed us a really strong return and a really strong initial starting point. And I’ll say initial because there’s still a lot of work to do.”

As is to be expected, and as it was in March when Mendenhall first spoke with media members via video conference for the first time, the question of what to do with the schedule continues to garner a great deal of attention. He said then as he said this week that he’s in favor of going to a conference-only schedule if it’s appropriate. He’s also been consistent that anything less than eight games is not viable to him.

He believes it is “really difficult to ask our players under these circumstances” to play less than eight before adding that he didn’t “think it would be appropriate to ask of them” to play otherwise.

He understands the revenue part of the equation and why football season is important to the athletics department and its need for resources. The impact football has on other sports is unavoidable. This is the topic of conversation everywhere, it seems. And it should be. And it will continue to be.

Mendenhall is a firm believer in the idea that one must be realistic about a situation even while keeping the hope alive for the best.

“It’s possible but incredibly challenging,” he said of playing football this season. “I’m really encouraged by our start. Our numbers would reflect less than 1 percent basically of our team [tested positive] which, if you look nationwide…it’s about as safe an environment as you can find, maybe on the planet. So, that’s the starting point.

“We’re going to prepare as if we’re opening with Georgia,” Mendenhall added. “We’ll prepare as if the season will happen. We’re preparing as if we want to keep all of our goals in tact acknowledging at the same time—this is the Stockdale Paradox—you never lose faith in the end of the story but you have to acknowledge the brutal facts.”

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